How to Dance

Do you feel uncomfortable standing in the corner of the room while everyone is dancing happily? Are you going to an event that requires you to dance a little? If your confidence has dropped drastically just because not knowing how to dance prevents you from having fun, don’t worry. If you take the time to master a few basic steps, you can learn to dance freely, dance a romantic dance, or surprise guests on the dance floor at a family wedding.

Table of Contents

Free dance

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First beat to the beat of the music. Let’s start by finding the rhythm of the track. If possible, count, snap, or clap to the beat. ^{[1] X Research Source} Once you have the melody, start the first beat to the music.

Once your head is in tune with the music, it’s easy for the rest of your body to follow.
To find the beat of the music, try to listen for drums or bass. These are usually the instruments that give the music a melody.

Tip: To get used to capturing rhythm, practice with songs that have a clear beat. For example, try clapping and swinging to the beat of Johnnie Taylor’s “Juke Joint'”. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Transfer your body weight from one foot to the other. Once you have a good grasp of the beat, you can start incorporating a few more foot beats. Start by shifting your weight to one side of your foot, lifting your heel slightly off the floor with the other foot. Just go back and forth to the beat of the music. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

At each count, you switch your body to one leg. You can bounce back and forth at each beat but start slowly, gradually you will get comfortable and jump faster.
Relax your legs and knees slightly. Your body, when pacing back and forth, should have a slight “bounce”, just a subtle dance between the weight transfer between the legs.

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Move your feet to the music. Once you’re comfortable pacing your body to the rhythm, start moving your legs. Just before transferring your body weight to the other leg, move slightly, even if only 2-5 cm, from the original position. Even if you move your foot, keep it close to the floor.

Pay attention to the joints of your toes, which are the parts that help you bounce easily. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
If you’re dancing with someone else, make sure to dance with them.

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Combined with hips. As your torso swings from one foot to the other, move your hips (and body) gently in the direction of that foot. For example, when you swing to the right foot, move your hips to the right as well. You can twist your body a little to add some movement. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

For example, when you swing to the right, bring your right shoulder forward slightly and your left shoulder back. Repeat the above step when the beat is left.

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Combined with the arm. When you’re uncomfortable, you often cross your arms or let them hang loose. Instead, move your arms. Keep your hand open or half-closed. You can swing your arms in the air or bend your arms and swing them to your sides, like when you’re jogging. Whatever you do, don’t just dance, but switch. You can try the following dances:

Dice swing. Half-close your hands and shake your arms as if you were rolling a dice. After shaking a few times, release the hand “roll the dice”. Do not overdo this dance because it will look very funny.
Lawn mowing dance. Lean forward and imagine your hand is gripping a lawn mower, with the other hand half-held and pulling back and forth as if starting the machine. Once the lawn mower has started, you can take a few steps with your arms outstretched as if you were mowing the lawn.
The swing of the noose. Hold your hand loosely as if holding an imaginary piece of rope, then swing in the air like a cowboy preparing to catch a cow. Pace your torso and push your hips in the opposite direction of your rotating hand.
Hand punch. Clasp your hands together and do a celebratory air punch.

Dance with your dance partner

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Get into position with your dance partner. Stand face to face with your jumper and enter the base position. If you are the leader, put your right hand on the opponent’s shoulder and your left hand on their right hand, the position of your hands will form a pair of C. You will also put your hand on your right shoulder.

The two of you holding hands can be raised to eye level or low to hip height, depending on both of you. Just keep your arms relaxed, elbows comfortably bent, and don’t make your jumper lift your shoulders.
Keep a distance of 7-15 cm between you and your partner.
Make sure you and your partner agree on who’s leading from the start!

The trick: The slow is usually danced by men and women, with the male leading the way. But you don’t have to follow the tradition. You can pair up with dance partners of all genders and decide who to lead based on confidence, height or any other factor of your choice.

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Step left foot to the left. As you begin to jump, bring your left foot out in a smooth gliding motion. The jumper will follow with their right foot. This is the first part of the slow dance “touching feet”.

If you dance as the lead, let them make the first move, and try to follow them as smoothly as possible.
Try to keep your dance moves to the beat of the music. Counting beats in your head is also one way.

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Bring right foot to touch left foot. After the first jump with the left foot, slide the right foot in so that it touches the left foot. Your dance partner will also follow you in this move.

Try not to bounce or shrug as you slide your feet together. Aim for smooth, fluid motion.

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Repeat the leg movement but on the opposite side. Once your feet are in contact, continue to step to the right with your right foot. Then slide the left foot back to the right foot. Repeat this throughout the dance.

In addition, you can also jump two steps to the left and then two steps to the right.

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Use your hands to navigate you jump if you want to move around. If you want to dance around the dance floor, gently push or pull you to dance in the direction you want. After your feet touch, push with one hand and pull with the other as you step to another beat.

For example, when you are stepping to the left but want to rotate to the right, start bringing the right foot back to the left foot. Then, push your partner’s right hand while gently pulling their right shoulder, at the same time step to the left.

Dancing at the wedding

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Learning the Chicken Dance is suitable for many people. The chicken dance is a popular dance style at many wedding parties. It is very easy to dance because there are only 3 basic steps that you can change to the music. This dance also does not cause pressure because no one will notice if you don’t dance well. Steps to Dancing the Chicken: ^{[7] X Research Source}

Raise your arms to shoulder height and then pinch your thumbs into the rest of your fingers so that your hand looks like a beak. When you flick your thumb up and down it looks like a cuckoo beak.
Then make a fist and tuck it under your arm to make it look like you have chicken wings. Flap your wings up and down to the music.
With your hands still pretending to be chicken wings, continue to flap your wings but bring your back out, bend your knees and shake your butt slowly to the floor.
Repeat the above steps until the end of the track.

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Master the Hora dance in a Jewish wedding. Hora is the dance at Jewish weddings to the song “Hava Nagila” or other traditional Jewish songs. Hora is a group dance with a group dance method like “vines”: ^{[8] X Research source}

Step left foot to right. The right foot follows. Then step left foot behind right foot. The right foot continues to step backward.
This dance is danced in a circle with people holding hands or putting their arms around each other’s shoulders and dancing.
The pace of this dance is usually fast. Sometimes the music starts slowly but gradually the band gets faster and faster with the same song.

Do you know? In orthodox Jews, men and women would dance the hora separately. At more liberal weddings, male and female guests are allowed to mingle and dance together.

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Basic slow dance for the dollar dance. At some weddings, guests will line up and give $1 (or more) to dance with the bride and groom. You can do a slow dance or sometimes it doesn’t have to be a dance but just sharing a few moments of joy with the couple on their wedding day. ^{[9] X Research Source}

In some cases, male guests will dance with the bride and female guests will dance with the groom. In some cases guests will dance with both the bride and groom.
Just holding hands and turning in place is valid if this is the easiest way to be able to talk privately with the bride and groom.

To dance properly

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Sign up for a basic dance class. There are many dance classes of all genres from hip-hop to ballet, modern dance and salsa. You can search online for classes in your area. Whatever style you prefer, you may find some benefit to learning old dance because other dance styles are more or less rooted in basic old dance steps.

When being taught a dance, pay attention to what the teacher does. Try to do the same with them. If that doesn’t work, watch the teacher again and notice the little details they did to make the jump look easier.
You can ask your teacher for some tips. Skilled teachers have worked with hundreds of students so there will be a way to help you overcome difficulties.
Even just a few hours in class can help you learn the basics and become more confident.

Ypanda Thomas

Dance teacher

Ypanda Thomas is a Hip Hop dance teacher living in Los Angeles, California and Sydney, Australia. Ypanda taught hip hop at the Sydney Dance Company and twice won the LA Music Award for singing and songwriting. She won the hip hop dance competition Choreographer of the Year organized by GROOVE in Australia and was hired by Google to choreograph the dance for the Mardi Gras festival in Sydney.

Ypanda Thomas
Dance teacher

Experts agree: Practicing 3 or 4 dance moves in class can help you overcome shyness and learn basic steps and techniques. Just make sure you get into the right class for the right level. Look for beginner or beginner classes, but be careful with open or beginner classes as they are not for beginners.

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Join flash mob jumps to boost your confidence. Flash mobs are a form of collective performance – usually dancing – in which all appear to perform from all over the world and then disappear together quickly. These performances look spontaneous but are actually well choreographed. You can find flash mob teams online, practice with them for a few weeks and then perform in public. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Some flash mob groups post videos online showing how to dance and rehearse the dance.
Flash mob welcomes everyone of all skill levels, it focuses on fun and creating an exciting scene, so the more the merrier.
You can also learn many great dance moves and connect with many people who share the same dancing interest.

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Watch dance shows on TV for more inspiration. Dancing is a popular activity all over the world, and you can see them all over TV. ^{[11] X Research Source} Try turning on the TV to watch reality shows about dance competitions. Focusing on the dance steps is a bit too professional. Instead you can focus on the dancer’s demeanor, how confident they are and how happy they look on the dance floor.

Popular dance shows these days include Universal Jump and Dance Challenge .

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Watch dance movies to get new ideas. Watch dancing movies for more ideas. There are many movies of this genre for you to choose from. Take a look at as many as you can or you can choose the titles that suit your taste, for example:

Try Dirty Dancing or Shall We Dance , both of which are movies about people who don’t know how to dance step by step develop bravery and grace and practice to perform full of life.
Watch Footloose or Flashdance to see the power of dance in the form of resisting the imposition of authority or transcending personal circumstances.
Watch every movie featuring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to inspire you with the grace and elegance of these dancers.
Check out Stormy Weather to see the Nichpas Brothers push tap dancing beyond all limits.

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Participate in dance competitions to improve your skills. Dance competitions, also officially known as DanceSport events, are held all over the world. Search online for contests near you. Participating in dance competitions helps you set specific goals for yourself and build skills.

Check out sites like The International Grand Ball, United States Dance Championships, and Access Dance Network.

Tip: If you’re not confident enough to enter contests, you can be a spectator for inspiration and a sense of what to expect.

What to wear to dance?

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Wear comfortable shoes. Choose a shoe that fits well with a slim, flexible sole that’s right for the dance floor. Stay away from wedge shoes because the thick soles and heels make it difficult to feel the dance floor. Make sure you feel safe in your shoes too. The best sandals should be left at home. Don’t wear sneakers or shoes with rubber soles that get stuck on the dance floor, as they make it difficult to move smoothly on the floor. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Different dance styles require different shoes, so find out in advance what you need for your dance style. For example, sneakers go great with hip-hop and freestyle, while heels go well with Latin dance.

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Dressing. If you tend to sweat a lot. Choose fabrics made of natural fibers. Tank tops and camisoles may look good, but your sweaty skin will make you jump. Prepare absorbent towels and baby powder in case you need them.

If you’re going to have to dance with your partner, avoid wearing slippery materials like silk. Your dancing partner may have a harder time supporting you if their hands are sweaty. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Tip: Consider bringing an extra shirt in case you get too sweaty.

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Wear clothes that allow you to move freely. Tight velvet may look good if you don’t have to move, but can keep you off the dance floor. Worse, you can easily fall into a state of shame when the item is torn. Choose clothes that are loose enough or stretchy enough that you can move your whole body. Choose a shirt with sleeves that don’t interfere with hand movement – it should make it easy to raise your arms in the air. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Try on clothes first at home to make sure you can dance comfortably.
To avoid problems, make sure the clothes you choose fit well and won’t slip when you dance!

Advice

Learn to dance to your favorite songs, especially when you already know the tune and can sing along. You’ll anticipate changes in the music and dance accordingly, and you’ll be happier with the music you like.
Observe the other dancers. If you don’t know how to dance to the music, seek suggestions from other dancers. You shouldn’t copy them completely (unless that’s the standard jump), but you should get some ideas from them.
Smile and try to look excited, even if you’re nervous and unsure of what you’re doing, acting with confidence helps you feel confident too.
If you’re embarrassed or can’t take a step, don’t give up, keep practicing.

Warning

Don’t force yourself or try to dance to dances you’re not comfortable with or ready for. Good dancers make dance moves look so easy – don’t be fooled. You can strain your muscles and fall (especially when wearing high heels). You can still dance beautifully without doing difficult moves. Really.

Steps